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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28846767">Meeting the Family</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mdr_24601/pseuds/mdr_24601'>mdr_24601</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>you're not alone at the table anymore [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Umbrella Academy (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, POV Outsider, POV Raymond Chestnut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 03:54:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,621</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28846767</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mdr_24601/pseuds/mdr_24601</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray wasn't expecting to see Allison again. </p><p>So when she appeared at their doorstep, family in tow, he was both pleasantly surprised and more confused than he'd ever been. </p><p>Or: After their fight with the Commission, Ray meets Allison's family.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Raymond Chestnut &amp; The Hargreeves, Raymond Chestnut/Allison Hargreeves</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>you're not alone at the table anymore [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1958572</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>195</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Meeting the Family</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He wasn’t expecting to see her again. </p><p>Ray had thought that when he and Allison said goodbye, it would be over. That was it. He loved her, of course he did, but she belonged with her family, in her own time. He belonged here. </p><p>So his heart jumped in his throat when the door opened, and Allison called, “Ray?”</p><p>“Allison?” Ray ignored the flash of blue coming from the kitchen (he’d worry about that later) and in just a few strides, made it to his wife. “Baby, I thought you’d left already. What’s going on? Are you okay?”</p><p>She certainly didn’t look okay. Aside from the blood and dirt coating her skin, which was worrying enough on its own, there was a tiredness about her, like if she just allowed herself one moment to sit down, she might fall asleep and not wake up for twelve hours. </p><p>“Everything’s fine,” Allison said. “We just needed a place to regroup. I know we’re a lot, but can my family stay here for the night?”</p><p>Ray had been so caught up in his wife that he hadn’t noticed the crowd of people standing behind her. Some of them looked familiar; the giant blond man, the cult leader from the police station. His brain scrambled to put names to faces. How many brothers did she have again? </p><p>“Of course,” he said, hoping he didn’t sound too disturbed. “Come in.”</p><p>They all filed in behind Allison. The blond man ducked under the doorway, and one of them was languidly twirling a knife in his hand as if it wasn’t a safety hazard. Along with her brothers came a mousy brunette woman, who Ray guessed must have been Allison’s only sister. </p><p>“Good seeing you, man,” the knife man said. Diego, if Ray remembered correctly. </p><p>“Has anyone seen Five?” the woman asked, eyes scanning the room. </p><p>“He probably jumped again,” said the blond man, settling onto the couch as the furniture in question groaned under his weight. Allison sighed. </p><p>“Didn’t we just tell him to take it easy?” his wife asked. “It’s like he’s trying to injure himself.”</p><p>“Thank you for your concern,” another unfamiliar voice said dryly, “but I’m fine. I was just looking for coffee.” </p><p>Ray’s eyes widened. A literal teenager, looking too battered for his comfort, stood in his living room, a steaming mug of coffee in his hands. He hadn’t noticed the boy enter in with the others. Allison had said her siblings were all the same age, so who was this kid?</p><p>“Ray,” Allison said, voice tight. “This is my brother, Five.”</p><p>“Like the number?” he found himself asking incredulously. Perhaps it was a nickname of sorts. </p><p>Five’s eyes narrowed, sensing his confusion. “Your wife’s name,” he drawled, “is Number Three.”</p><p>Allison sent the teen a pointed look, one that asked <em> was that really necessary? </em></p><p>All Ray could do was watch. Words had long since left him, especially when it came to Allison’s strange family. And now, seeing them all together in one place, he realized how strange they all looked. They didn’t look like a family, but there was a certain familiarity in the way they spoke and moved around each other that suggested that they knew each other quite well. </p><p>“Five, you should be resting,” the other woman spoke up again. Heads turned her way, as if everyone had forgotten she was there. </p><p>“I’m fine, Vanya,” Five said again, growing increasingly frustrated at having to reiterate the same point over and over. Turning to Ray, he said, “Do you have a first aid kit, by any chance?”</p><p>Mutely, he nodded and pointed in the direction of the kitchen. </p><p>“Well,” the cult leader (Klaus, Ray’s mind supplied) spoke up. “Nothing like a good fight for your life to get that adrenaline pumping, right?”</p><p>He sent a panicked glance to Allison. Were they in danger of dying? Could she have been dead right now? Sensing his worry, Allison put her hands on his shoulders and guided him gently to the kitchen. </p><p>“Everything’s fine,” she said, voice soothing. “We’re all okay. Nobody’s hurt—” she stopped mid-sentence, eyes widening in horror at something behind him that Ray couldn’t see. And, in all honesty, he wasn’t sure he wanted to turn around. “Jesus Christ, Five!”</p><p>“What?” Five’s voice came from behind him. Slowly, Ray turned to see the teen sitting on his kitchen table, first aid kit open, stitching up a painful looking wound in his side. </p><p>“You couldn’t have let one of us do that for you?” Allison asked. “Wait here, I’m getting Vanya. She was always better at this stuff.” She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek on the way out. </p><p>Moments later, Allison and Vanya walked back into the kitchen, matching expressions of annoyance on their faces. In moments like these, it was clear that they were sisters. Vanya said nothing as she took the needle and thread from Five and began to work gently. </p><p>“I’m not a child,” the boy said, as if this were a fact he’d repeated several times already. </p><p>“I know,” was Vanya’s response. </p><p>Ray sent an incredulous glance to Allison. Who let a child get injured like this, anyway?</p><p>“Would you be okay if I told you he’s fifty-eight?” she whispered cautiously. Ray took a moment to consider this. </p><p>“It wouldn’t be the craziest thing I’ve heard from you,” he replied, and Allison laughed a little. </p><p>He and Allison went back into the living room where Luther, Diego, and Klaus were still waiting. “Everything okay?” Luther asked from his spot on the couch. </p><p>Allison gave him a tight smile. “Five decided to stitch up his own wound.”</p><p>The three men paused, then nodded. “So normal, then,” Diego said with a shrug. “Good to know.”</p><p>Ray’s mind was still reeling. How was any of this normal? The blood, the injuries, the fifty-eight year old teenager stitching up his own wound on his kitchen table? There was nothing even remotely ordinary about the situation. </p><p>“I promise we’ll be out of your hair by tomorrow,” Allison said apologetically. “I think Five’s anxious to get home, anyway. He probably won’t let us stay longer than that.”</p><p>“It’s okay,” Ray replied. “Whatever you need.”</p><p>She smiled and gave his hand a gentle squeeze, before she and her family got ready for bed. </p><hr/><p>In the bleary minutes of early morning, when Ray woke up with his arms around Allison, he could pretend for a moment that everything was normal. It was just a regular morning, and soon Allison would be up, and they would have breakfast together, just like they always did.</p><p>That hope vanished quickly. </p><p>Ray was not the first one up. Five was already in the kitchen when he made it down stairs, still in the same tattered school uniform that he was wearing before. Didn’t he have a change of clothes? </p><p>“Morning,” Five said distractedly, already sipping a cup of coffee. </p><p>“Morning,” he replied slowly, taking in the sight. In the living room, Luther and Diego dozed lightly on the couches, with Klaus sprawled out on the floor. If he hadn’t known they were all related, he certainly wouldn’t have come to that conclusion on his own. </p><p>“Hey,” Allison greeted him in the kitchen. “You’re up early.”</p><p>Ray shrugged. Before he could respond, Klaus walked into the kitchen, hair tousled from sleep, his appearance one of somebody who had just woken up. “Oh, hey,” he said drowsily. “Is it breakfast time yet? Ooh, could we do waffles?”</p><p>“Sure,” Ray said. “I think I can manage that.”</p><p>“No time,” Five called from the table. “You can have your waffles when we get back home. Which, may I remind you, is what we have been trying to accomplish for the last two weeks.”</p><p>“Did somebody say waffles?” Luther joined them in the kitchen, which was becoming increasingly cramped with every new person who walked in. </p><p>“Five said no,” Klaus whined. </p><p>“Of course he did.” Diego sauntered into the kitchen and sat down at the table so he was facing Five. “Five’s against every idea that isn’t his own.”</p><p>“Again,” Five repeated, exasperation clear, “we don’t have time for this. If you all are sufficiently rested, I’d like to go home.”</p><p>Allison glanced at him before they crept out into the hallway for a moment of privacy. “I think this is it,” she said. “I’m actually leaving this time.”</p><p>Ray nodded, willing his eyes not to water. This was important to her. It was important to both of them really, because what was important to Allison was important to Ray. “I know. I support you.”</p><p>She smiled softly. “I know you do.”</p><p>They stood in silence for a second before Ray pressed a kiss to her lips. “Stay safe,” he said. “I hope you find your way home.”</p><p>Allison’s eyes watered. “I love you, baby.”</p><p>“I love you, too.”</p><p>A quiet knock on the door frame alerted them to Vanya’s presence, and they broke apart. “I think Five’s ready to leave now,” she told Allison, who nodded. Then, to Ray, “Thanks for letting us stay.”</p><p>He nodded his acknowledgement. </p><p>Allison gave his hand a gentle squeeze, one that said goodbye without the words. He squeezed back, and their hands lingered on each others’, fingers brushing as they broke apart. </p><p>“Bye, Ray!” Klaus called from the kitchen. “Sorry about your kitchen!”</p><p>Before he had time to wonder what Klaus meant by that, Allison caught his eye, and the family vanished in a flash of blue light. </p><p>When Ray made his way into the kitchen, he found, among the mess that they had left behind, an open box of waffle batter, a half empty coffee mug, and Allison’s hair scrunchie sitting silently on the table. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>We need more Ray content out there, especially fics where he meets the Hargreeves. This was very self indulgent so I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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